Best Wishes
by theotherweasley
Summary: A story about the lives of the three Potter children in years 2, 4 and 5 at Hogwarts. Inspired by 'I'd Lie' by Taylor Swift and named for John Green
1. Chapter 1

_Still don't own HP, will keep you posted_

_(Set in 2020, three years after DH epilogue)_

"Oh god, Dad! What were you thinking? Announcing my birthday to the entire class? This has to be one of the most embarrassing things you've ever done!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was such a big deal" The herbology professor told the young girl in front of him, as he straightened out his notes for the sixth year class he had coming in after lunch. "I thought your classmates would like the opportunity to wish you well."

"My _'classmates' _wouldn't care less about my birthday if I told them it was today while standing on my head on the dining table" She mumbled. Lara Longbottom was far from outgoing, but to say no one cared it was her birthday was a bit of a stretch. Her father, Professor Longbottom was in fact one of the coolest teachers at Hogwarts, and she had met a lot of friends because of him. He was always showing his classes his old D.A. coins, and telling stories of his old friends. For example, a few weeks ago he shared that Hermione Weasley, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, accidentally turned herself into a cat in her second year! Very few of his students believed him, though.

But no matter how cool your father is, the last place you want him is at school with you. And the fact that he had done all this amazing stuff at school just made shy Lara seem all the more pathetic, or at least, it did in her opinion. Today, he had decided to share with the class that it was in fact September 3rd, his daughter's birthday. The class reacted to this mostly with polite smiles or 'happy birthday, Lara's', but what horrified Lara was the number of times since then she'd heard 'Professor Longbottom has a daughter? Lara, you say? Well, I've never heard of a Lara before…'

There was really only one person she wanted to hear 'happy birthday' from today, and now she'd never know if he'd actually remember it, or if he'd just heard it in the hallways.

* * *

"I don't know, girls. I mean, the Hogsmeade weekend is a long way away yet. Can I let you know in a week or two?" James let out a sigh. In truth, he didn't want to go to Hogsmeade with either of the two girls standing before him. Sure, they were alright, but truth be told, he could probably do a lot better, as they were a bit lacking the brains department. He'd much rather just meet up with his friends and Al at the three broomsticks in Hogsmeade, or something. He mussed up his sleek black hair in annoyance at the thought of having to turn down all of these invitations in a polite but very clear way (he wasn't the best at this, as he had inherited his Uncles tact – or lack thereof)

James Potter was quite possibly the most eligible boy in his year, if not the school. He was the eldest son of Harry Potter and gorgeous to boot. He was funny, but not quite as smart as his younger brother Al. The two of them had a running gag that James could tell which of the two of them a bird would go for within thirty seconds of meeting her. He would walk right up to her and say the cheesiest line he could come up with (generally stolen from his Uncles Ron and George) and if she smiled or laughed, she was his; if the girl rolled her eyes and walked away, she was Al's. The plan was that Al would be sitting right near by and look up for the large book he'd been reading to apologize for his older brother's behavior. He'd tell her that someone so lovely shouldn't have to put up with guys like him, then quickly turn back to his book. Every single time, they would end up walking over to talk to the sly younger Potter brother, unaware that they had just been played. James found this quite hilarious, and Albus liked to think of it as more of a social experiment, so he could feel less guilty.

James was on his way to lunch in the Great Hall when he saw a wave of long red hair streak by him alarmingly quickly.

"Where's fire, Lil?"

"How many times have I told you _not _to call me that!" his younger sister barked at him. Sighing, she said much more calmly "I'm trying to get away from all the third year boys" she admitted "I've found three separate notes in my books just this week, two Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw. It's like they've all forgotten that second years can't even go to Hogsmeade!" She looked quite miserable, and James noted it must be very difficult for her to try and hide in a crowd, what with her bright red hair.

"Don't worry about it Lil, Al and I'll get it sorted" he said, quite determined. He didn't like the attention his sister got from all the males in Hogwarts, though most have them had come to know that you don't mess with Lily Potter unless you want to be seriously injured by her older brothers. James handed Lily his fathers old map that they had only just figured out how to use last year with the help of Ron.

"Use this to find a good hiding spot, I'll go get Al and don't worry, they won't be bothering you anymore"

"Wait James! That's not what I meant!" Lily protested, her voice becoming quieter as he turned and walked down the hallway "You don't have to-" and her voice was swallowed by the crowd.

James took the stairs up two flights to the Gryffindor common room, where he knew Al would be. The fat lady looked at him expectantly.

"Veritaserum"

And the door swung open.

"Al, I've been informed certain third years need reminding on common curtsey and how to treat a lady. Namely, our sister." He said, raising his eyebrows.

Albus smiled wryly. "Then I guess we'll just have to teach them, won't we?"

Both of the missed the shy, brown-haired girl watching them longingly as the walked past her in the halls.

_Oh, well. So much for a happy birthday. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks so much to __BrookeAlison__ and __AnimalAddictions__ for reviewing! I know I got you guys to read it with the John Green and Taylor Swift allusions, but hopefully you liked the story enough to keep reading! (And just FYI, the first half of this chapter is inspired by John's infamous phone call. Nerdfighters ftw). _

**Best Wishes!**

Chapter Two

Humiliated. No, mortified. No, still not strong enough. In the depths of despair? No, too much…

What had she been thinking! Lara usually fervently avoided conversation with other people for just this reason! Why, oh why had she thought she was capable of having a normal, coherent conversation with Albus Potter? Was she really that deluded?

_No, _she thought, _just that in love. _

She had met up with him to study for an upcoming charms test in the library, and it had gone downhill fast. Her memory was already blocking out the most painful parts, but she was fairly certain that toenails had entered the conversation at some point. And had she really mentioned that she snored when she slept? How attractive…

The worst part was arguably that she had left without saying goodbye, or see you later, but had instead chosen to go with 'Best Wishes'!

Who even says that?!

_All right, that's it, _she decided, burying her head farther into her pillow, _I'll just never come out of this dorm, and everyone can just forget that that ever happened_

Oh, but if only that were true….

[ Al's POV]

"So, study date, hmmm? Getting steamy in the book stacks? You and whatsername were probably- OW! Hey! What was that for?" asked the annoying, teasing voice belonging to one Thomas Cauldwell, who sat rubbing the side of his head which had just been hit with a shoe.

"Because you're an arse. Now shut up."

"Ooh, touchy touchy!" He teased. "Who _is _this girl anyway, that you'd be so willing to blow off an established plan with your friend to spend time with _studying?" _Thomas asked incredulously.

"Ok, first of all, using my dad's old map to stalk that Ravenclaw fifth year is not an 'established plan'. And second, I don't _have_ to tell you who she is, and I won't because I don't need to give you any reason to start harassing her, as well."

"Hey! It's not stalking! I just need an in with her friends, but she likes me, I can tell" He replied, an easy smirk on his face.

"That'd be much easier to believe that if she knew your name" Albus replied, before he, too was hit with the shoe.

When dealing with girls, Thomas was often oblivious and thick. However, around his friends he was perceptive enough to know when to drop a topic, so he changed instead to Quidditch. "How's your brothers team been shaping up?" he asked. Athletic ability was just one of the numerous ways the Potter brothers differed. Where Albus was exceedingly bright and had his mothers knack for Charms, James had become Hogwarts' greatest chaser since…well, since the last James Potter.

"Apparently practice has been going okay. He's a bit worried about having Hugo playing beater, though. He's afraid aunt Hermione will kill him if anything happened to 'her baby'. Al laughed, running his fingers through his hair. "I can't wait for the first match against Hufflepuff!" While Albus had no desire ever to play for the Gryffindor house team, he made sure to be at every game to support his house and his brother. And now, of course, Hugo.

"So, we're going to the game this week then, are we? Are you going to invite this mystery girl?" Thomas taunted.

"If you don't shut up I won't even be going with you!" Al replied, grinning.

_(AN: so, there you go. An update, if not a long one. The next one will hopefully be longer and up very soon) _


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks so much to everyone's been __reviewing! I'm so glad you guys like the story. Sorry this took so long to post, but I was having some serious writers block issues. I hope it's good enough that you won't kill me._

**Best Wishes!**

Chapter Three

After McGonagall retired several years ago, Headmaster Quince had been appointed. His first order of business had been to make Muggle Studies an obligatory course far all non-Muggle students in every year. The idea was that knowledgeable and informed students were less likely to carry the prejudice and ignorance toward Muggles into further generations.

Harry had seen the difficulty many wizards had in trying to blend in with Muggles, and had promised Ginny he would ensure their children were equally comfortable in either world. It became apparent not long after Albus was born that this would be a very difficult thing to do. After spending one afternoon in a Muggle restaurant with two screaming infants and no way to conjure up food or a bottle for them, Ginny had decided they wouldn't be spending much time away from their wizarding comforts anymore. Both she and Harry thought that the new mandatory Muggle Studies classes were a very good idea, in _theory, _if not in execution.

The course itself was as woefully ignorant as always. The students learned through such a filter that none of them would have any idea what to do if the suddenly found themselves in muggle London. The one aspect of the course that anyone genuinely enjoyed was the music. Occasionally, their rather eccentric professor would play music for the class. The instruments the teacher brought in were often quite bizarre and outlandish; however three of the students seemed to know quite a bit about them. These three were skilled at playing and even composing music on the muggle instruments. Albus Severus wouldn't tell many people, but he had a real aptitude for the guitar. After giving up on trips with the kids to Muggle London, Harry and Ginny had instead decided to have each of their children trained on a Muggle musical instrument of their choice. Al had chosen at the age of six to learn guitar, and had a real talent for it. Only three students in the entire school were aware of this, however.

One was James, who himself played the drums (though he could only play them at home on holidays). Another was Lily, who had been taking lessons on the flute for six years. The last was Lara.

Lara had heard Albus practicing in the Gryffindor common room early one morning during the Christmas break in first year. He must have assumed that everyone who hadn't already left for home was still asleep, but Lara sat quietly out of sight on the girls dormitory staircase, listening. The next morning and each morning after that during the break, she sat in that same spot listening, and writing lyrics to the songs he composed. They were written in a notebook she had received that year from her parents. She had cleverly written 'History Notes' on the title, hoping to deter anyone who found it from reading it. Not that anyone was likely to find it, she kept the notebook heavily guarded, it had several sealing charms placed on it, and was kept hidden at the bottom of her trunk.

No one was getting to that book, if it killed her.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Faster! Keep your head up, you bloody idiot!"Andrew_McDonnell shouted from his vantage point above the team "Do you honestly think we'll be winning any cups this year, if you lot keep playing like this?" He then emitted a loud sort of enraged growling noise, which caused Hugo to nearly drop the quaffle he was holding. _

"Go, get changed, and tomorrow I'd better be seeing a whole new team on that pitch; one that actually cares whether we look like complete idiots playing Slytherin next week! GO!" He turned his back on the team, as if in disgust. Outside of practice, McDonnell was apparently a rather good bloke. Hugo couldn't see it.

The team needed no more encouragement then that. The all scurried off to their change rooms in complete silence. No one wanted to admit that this year's team just wasn't up to par. Most of last year's cup-winning team had graduated, leaving them without a chaser, both beaters and their old captain and keeper. This years team truly was scraping the barrel of students with any bit of talent on a broom, or indeed, just in possession of a broom.

Hugo had always felt quite a bit of pressure to join the Gryffindor team. In all fairness, he did love to play pick up games at home, and he wasn't a bad beater, but he had grown up with his uncle George telling him all kinds of stories about him and his brother playing beaters on their old team. Hugo couldn't help but feel he'd be letting his uncle down if he hadn't at least tried out for the team. He knew it was probably only on James good word that he'd made the team, but he didn't care, he'd try to make the best of it. This upcoming game would be the first Hugo would play for the team. He just hoped it wouldn't be the last.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Really now Luce, do you have to be so hard on them? They were just having a bit of fun!"

"For the thousandth time, my name is Luc_y. _I would really much prefer it if you could just call me by my given name. And as for those fourth years, I do not think that 10 house points each is unreasonable, they were running through the halls, they could have hurt somebody!"

Hearing the eldest of the Weasley cousins arguing in the library was not common. To the Head Girl Lucy talking in the library at all was almost unheard of. But it was well know that Roxanne and Lucy Weasley were next to nothing alike. They shared only their last name and characteristic hair colour. But could you really expect the daughters of George and Percy to be gal-pals? They got along alright most days, but Lucy had a penchant for being in charge of everyone, and Roxanne despised anyone trying to tell her what to do. It usually fell to Fred, Roxanne's older brother, to sort things out between them. With his easy going nature and charming smile, he could have almost any problem sorted and have the girls on good terms again in no time.

At the moment though, Fred was not at school. Ever since their first year at Hogwarts, George Weasley had managed to find a way to take each of his children out for a treat on their birthdays (today being Freds, he was likely at Zonko's or eating ice cream right now) No one quite knew how he pulled it off, as students were not actually allowed to leave, but if anyone could be trusted to find a way, it was Gorge Weasley.

Roxanne would just have to put up with Lucy's dictatorship until her brother got back. But no one said she couldn't mess with her cousin a little bit first…


	4. Chapter 4

_I had a ton of time on my hands, and was able to post this much earlier than I expected :) Please leave a comment, with enough encouragement I might be able to pull this off another time (no promises, though)_

_I hope you enjoy this! _

**Best Wishes!**

Chapter Four

"Guys, I really don't know about this…"

"Oh, shut up. Don't you want to get back at her for telling your dad about those House Points you lost for _no reason at all? _She's completely power-mad. She needs to be taken down a notch." Roxanne was unwavering, once her sights had been set on a goal, particularly if that goal involved causing some damage, she was unstoppable.

"Well, first off, it wasn't exactly no reason. I mean, a bit of the couch in the common room did catch fire…" Hugo protested weakly, though he knew he didn't really stand a chance.

"Yes, but it wasn't your fault, now was it? Who's given her the power to dock points because of misguided attempts to do charms homework in the common rooms? Nobody, that's who! And I, for one, won't stand for it!" Roxanne said, quiet adamantly. She was leading a revolt of one (with some apprehensive younger cousins and their friends dragged along for support). Roxanne motioned for them to be very quiet, and she mumbled something that made the door ahead of them open "How'd you learn the-" Lily started to say

"Shh! Don't worry about it. Come on." Roxanne led them into the small, dark room. "Now, here's the plan…"

* * *

_So, _Lara thought, _that's got to be about five. Remarkable! Three different shades of green, with gold and brown…_

"Uhh, Lara?" Albus asked, waving a hand in front of the mesmerized girls' face. "Are you all right?"

"Hm? Oh, yes! I'm fine! Hahaha…" _and kill me now…_

"Alright…well then, if you're sure" he said, looking wary. "Do you want me to explain that again?"

_Well, I heard none of what you said the first time, so that might be a good idea _"Yeah, I'm not sure I quite get it yet. Could you just explain it once more?"

Lara had gone to Al for help with transfiguration since the end of last year, when she had accidentally changed a button into a _crill_ instead of a _quill. _Professor Boot had suggested she seek the help of an older student, and much to both Lara's chagrin and pleasure, he suggested Albus , who was incidentally one of his best transfiguration students.

Ever since the, Lara and Al had spent had spent an hour every Thursday and Sunday in the library working together. She was always glad for the opportunity to spend time with him, but always felt like a complete idiot and got frustrated whenever she made a mistake in front of him. The entire situation was rather confusing for her.

"…and then you're done. Got it?" Albus asked her, looking very hopeful.

"Oh, right, of course I got it. No problem" Lara lied. In truth, she was much too distracted to focus on school work today "Lets go back to the common room for a bit, I'm tired of all this" she gestured to the assortment of books on the desk in front of them.

"Yeah, alright" Albus picked up all the books and carried them out of the library. Only seconds after stepping into the common room, a resounding "AAHHHHH!!!" was bellowed from the girls' dorms. Lucy Weasley came flying down the stairs, her eyes flashing and her hair slightly askew.

"ROXANNE ALICIA WEASLEY!"

"Yeah, cuz?" Asked Roxanne, from her vantage point on the couch in the corner.

"What were you thinking? What could have possessed you? What sick, twisted part of your brain decided it would be funny to transfigure _all of my clothes _so they'd be _see-through?!_"

"Well, I'll admit, it's a bit unimaginative; but I think 'sick and twisted' is a bit uncalled for." Roxanne replied, smiling, as if she knew a secret and would never be convinced to tell it.

"This wasn't just your usual stupid prank, this was a personal attack!" Lucy still looked furious

"Look, you've always said you hate it that I get other people involved in the little games I like to play, so this time I thought I'd keep the theatrics to a minimum. Keep it inside the family," Roxanne responded, still smirking.

"I can't even look at you right now! And you lot!" she said to the common room at large "Get out of here!" She had nothing left to argue, and was too shaken. Without another word –but not without another contemptuous glare- the Head Girl stormed up the girls' staircase to her dorm. Everyone was too shocked to speak, and nobody seemed to be meeting anyone else's eyes for fear of bursting into riotous laughter.

The portrait of the Fat Lady abruptly swung open to reveal a smiling Fred. "What'd I miss?"

* * *

Lily Potter had grown up consistently being told how very much like her mother she was. Her hair, obviously, was the same vivacious shade of red, and her eyes the same shade of brown, if a little bit larger; but Lily couldn't always see the similarities. She had heard many of the stories from her mothers' time at Hogwarts, and of her courage in the war, and Lily couldn't reconcile herself with that strong image. Sure, Lily could be argumentative and stubborn, but she couldn't see herself fighting any Dark Lords any time soon. Lily had, however, inherited many of what she'd heard were her grandmother and namesakes' best traits. For instance, Lily was sincerely compassionate and kind hearted. She was also a force to be reckoned with academically. Lily was the top of her class in Potions, Charms, and D.A.D.A.

Lily loved almost all of her classes (though she was quite ambivalent on Defence, as her father's guest lectures were both fascinating and a little uncomfortable) but her time was often split between her studies and her fascination with the forest. She has an undeniable adventurous streak, which often led her on solitary trips through the forest. If Lily had any artistic talent, she would have drawn or painted the trees and creatures that so often incited her curiosity. As it was, she contented herself with just watching from a safe enough distance.

Today, however, Lily was distracted. While walking a few meters past the old cabin at the edge of the forest, Lily saw a shadow moving off in the distance ahead of her, and a small voice in her head urged her '_Go back to the castle. Don't follow whatever that was!' _Unfortunately, a much louder voice was prompting her to '_Follow it! What do you think that was?' _

Lily hiked after the thing, and from what she could tell, whatever it was, was no taller than her waist. She came up to the place she had spotted it, but instead saw only a large pond. Deciding the light must have hit the water and tricked her eyes, Lily turned to head back to the castle. After just a few steps, she heard a soft splashing noise. She spun around just as a bird-like creature rose out of the water and, blinking a few times, shot back underneath. Lily was mesmerized as it rose back out of the water, now resembling a pixie. Her feet felt as if they were glued to the ground, and she was scared to even blink as it ducked back under the dark water, and arose this time much, much larger.

The thing now resembled a dark colored horse, with a mane of green and brown reeds. It stepped up out of the water slowly, and turned to face her. It tilted its large head and stared at her.

Lily suspected she should feel threatened or nervous, but the horse was so striking and unlike anything she'd ever seen before, she couldn't look away. Lily could only see the huge black eyes staring right back at her. She stepped closer to it, unsure what she was doing.

"Wait, no! Stop!" A male voice shouted from somewhere behind her, forcing Lily to break her stare and turn to face him. "Don't go any closer! Don't you know what that is?" The boy asked, not unkindly. He hurried over to Lily, who had yet to move from her position right beside the horse. "Just step back slowly, he won't hurt you." He sounded so sure of himself that Lily couldn't not obey. The boy raised his wand toward the horses head, "Locus equus". The horse's eyes drooped, and he sat down beside the pond for a moment. A bridle appeared over the horses head, and the boy grabbed the reins, directing the horse back to the side of the lake. "All right then, go on" The boy prompted, and the horse slid back into its pond.

The boy turned to face Lily now. Perhaps it was because he may have just saved her life, but she decided he had very nice eyes. His hair wasn't bad either. "I'm Evan Chambers" he held out his hand, and Lily shook it.

"I'm Lily-"

"Lily Potter, yeah. I know your brother." He explained, and smiled "I'm guessing you haven't yet learned about Kelpies?"

"No, I'm only in second year."

"Well, that explains it then" He said, wearing the same easy smile "Generally, you don't want to get too close to them. They have a nasty habit of drowning and eating people."

"Oh!" Lily gasped. "Well, don't I feel like an idiot" She laughed nervously.

"Don't worry about it. I've had much closer calls than that in here before. Come on, I'll walk you back to your common room" He nodded his head in the direction of the school, and he and Lily set off together.

So, maybe Lily and Ginny had more in common than before. The hair, the eyes, and a crush on a seemingly unattainable friend of their older brother…


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello, and welcome to part 5 of Best Wishes! A huge thanks to everyone that's been reviewing my story; you guys are made of awesome! This chapter also took a very long time, unfortunately. I've been visiting and applying to schools, and it's taken up sooo much of my time, so I'm really sorry. _

_Where we left off…_

"_Don't worry about it. I've had much closer calls than that in here before. Come on, I'll walk you back to your common room" He nodded his head in the direction of the school, and he and Lily set off together. _

_So, maybe Lily and Ginny had more in common than before. The hair, the eyes, and a crush on a seemingly unattainable friend of their older brother…_

* * *

**Best Wishes!**

Chapter Five

"So you see, sister mine, why even _I_ cannot get behind the little stunt you pulled?" Fred chided his sister

"Not particularly, no" Roxanne replied, with an annoyed, sardonic smirk

For the last twenty minutes, (which to her had felt like several hours, as she had never been one to sit quietly for prolonged periods of time) Fred had been making his younger sister feel like a prize arse. The common room had all but emptied, and Fred had seized the opportunity to pass on information to his sister that he was quite frankly shocked she didn't already understand. Troublemakers, miscreants, wrongdoers and malefactors in every generation had all had a basic common goal. To cause mayhem, tension, stir up trouble, and just generally make life more interesting. It may be chaotic, at times, but one thing held it all together: there were guidelines, an unwritten code; and as Fred had to explain to the unruly Roxanne, there were levels you don't stoop to.

One of the penultimate principles of mischief making: never go against the family. Amusingly, this was also a strict rule of the mafia, but never mind that now…

"But it was just so much fun! She came running down the stairs wrapped in her bed sheets!" Roxanne protested, though admittedly the whole thing was a bit less funny after-the-fact.

"If you wanted revenge on her, you know there are plenty of less public and certainly more imaginative ways to go about it. But public humiliation in front of our entire House? They'll never look at her the same again, never respect her again" She started to interrupt that that was perhaps the best part, and hadn't he always said the authority figures such as her need to get knocked down a peg? Of course, knowing his sister as well as Fred did, he cut her off "While that does seem amusing _now, _just think of what it'll make her do! She _needs_ to win the cup this year, she's the Head Girl and she's a total perfectionist, as well you know." He said the term 'perfectionist' the same way you might say 'infectiously diseased'. "Can you imagine what she'll be like now? The lengths she'll go to, to keep everyone in line? She'll be worse than ever, because of your lack of foresight." He said, not angrily, but in an almost disappointed voice. Even worse, in a tone that said he knew he was right. It was bloody annoying.

Roxanne had to try and save face here. "But she was docking points for _running!_" She whined, a last-ditch attempt at redemption.

"Nevertheless"

Roxanne opened her mouth to respond, but words failed her. It was very difficult to argue with 'nevertheless'.

* * *

Lily had never been one for diary keeping. It seemed a pointless waste of time to divulge information to a source that had no means of replying. She instead would talk to her brothers or cousins for advice. But this, Lily decided, she'd have to puzzle out for herself. First, she'd have to find out which of her brothers Evan knew.

Lily had to come up with a plan. All she knew was that he wasn't on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, so he didn't know James from there. He could still be in his year, though. She couldn't exactly stake out both her brothers classes, just to check. This was going to take some detective work, and she knew just who to see about that.

Elizabeth Perks, a Hufflepuff third year, was infamous throughout the school for knowing everything about everyone in the school. She was Hogwarts answer to a tabloid writer, and saw everyone else's personal lives as her own claim to fame. She was insufferable to talk to, but everyone put up with her. She was easy to bribe for information, and too many knew the consequences of making the gossip hub angry.

The one thing Elizabeth could never say no to was Honeydukes' Chocoballs. Though Lily wasn't allowed to visit Hogsmeade, her brothers always spoiled her with treats and toys the brought back for her. She'd been saving the remaining snacks, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Lizzy, how've you been! I haven't seen you in ages!" Lily plastered a smile on her face

"You're too right, Emily, was it?"

"Lily, actually" She grimaced; this was going to be more painful than she thought. "Look, I'm just going to cut to the chase here. I need the scoop on a friend of my brothers. His name is Evan, and you see, they've only just started hanging out. I've never met him before, and I just want to make sure he won't be some sort of negative influence on him, or anything like that." Not bad, Lily thought, for a story she came up with on the spot.

"Hmm. I see. So you want information on an older boy you're interested in?"

Wow. For a girl so willing to circulate false rumors, she sure had a talent for lie detecting in others.

"I'd really appreciate if we could keep this just between us, Lizzy. So, I've brought something to…secure our friendly bond here, yeah?" Lily handed her the large box of chocolate.

"Hmm"

"And, as my fiend, I can trust that you won't be sharing this little conversation with anyone, correct?"

"Well, you see Emily, I really don't make promises like that" She smiled sweetly. Lily mentally rolled her eyes, and reached into her pocket.

"I figured you'd say something like that, so I brought some, extra insurance" Lily gave her the last of her Cauldron Cakes.

"Yes, well Emily, I think we can be very good friends indeed. I'll do a little digging and get back to you before dinner tomorrow."

* * *

Hugo joined the team's lineup as they waited to walk onto the Quidditch pitch. He couldn't remember a time he'd been more nervous.

The announcer's magnified voice began calling the players names. Hugo's broomstick was shaking in his hands as they marched toward the center of the pitch.

_Well, here goes nothing…_


End file.
